A Taxi Driver

“But why were the soldiers acting that way? Beating and chasing people who weren’t doing anything?” At its heart, A Taxi Driver is the story of a man being radicalized by the police and military response to peaceful protestors. That’s a theme I find extremely relatable. The film might be about the 1980 protests in Gwangju, South Korea in particular, but its depiction of an armed and violent response is, sadly, more universal.

They crank up the melodrama too much in second half of the film. Maybe that's necessary to get the point across? I think it muddles the message but it's still entertaining at least.

Shines a light on one of South Korea's darker chapters in history without being emotionally exploiting. Another standout lead role for Song Kang-Ho.

This movie went places I was not emotionally prepared for. A masterful leading role for Song Kang-Ho, whose character really goes through quite a transformation.

Although I found it lacking in its character arc a few times with the foreign journalist, it holds well with the political core in it’s entertaining story line. A surprising range of emotions and Song Kang-Ho is easy to invest with from the start. Some great shots of the reenactment as well.

This film takes you through the full range of emotions with the lead protagonist, and although set in a specific time and place it feels so very relevant to many places in the world.

Blends some light-hearted comedy and colorful cinematography with a pretty dark and brutal historic event. I was surprised to see such explicit violence of government troops against civilians in a mainstream movie, I can't imagine any country where this wouldn't cause a hefty irrational debate. The final act was too bittersweet for my taste.

It gets a little overdramatic at the end, but man, could you imagine a major American film ever being this explicit about showing American atrocities. Well-acted (Song Kang-ho had me cracking up in the first act) and beautifully shot (the chase scene at night!), it looks like South Korea's cinema renaissance is taking over the American blockbuster style too.

A successfully applied Hollywood formula soaked into Korean humor and warm-bloodedness. It is one of those middle ground movies which has a certain PC message-that can get too into the eye at times- and an entertaining plot and characters at the same time. The leading actor definitely carries the show on his shoulders.

I was surprised and appalled by the story. I didn't know about this terrible 1980 Korean atrocity. Acting performances and action all seemed realistic and believable. It has many tense and exciting moments. They did a great job with the characters and in recreating the atmosphere and attitudes of those involved. Except that they failed to expose the full scope of the event where over 600 people died. It was very heart-wrenching at the end. Worth watching but not suitable for children.

This was kind of painful to watch. Important topic, but all they got out of a wonderful revolution was just horrible suffering and victimization. Ending was the best part.

Another where cannot believe no member has commented! 90 where "90" = outstanding cinematography for the street scenes and the performance of Kang-ho Song, both 10/10, some points deducted for overdramatised, unnecessary on the road scene near end. Supposedly fact based (one character is filmed in the flesh at the end). An imdb note says (edited to fit)"film banned mainland China cos of plot "Suppression of the masses by the armed government (with tanks)", ie similar to China in 1989. Must watch